Louise Bourgeois was a fascisnating and complex artist who lived a long and productive life.Check out this short video of Ms. B talking about the symbolism of her spider pieces-- this is from a recent retrospective at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.
46 comments:
These spiders are huge! Although I am afriad of spiders i can appreiciate the great work and time spent on such a creature. These pieces totally enhance the area around them in such a unique way. Again I hate spiders, but this is amazing art.
I strongly dislike spiders, but they are very helpful to humans because they eat all of the other insects in your house. However, I like how Ms. B took the time to give the spiders a good reputation and she found something good about them. I like what spiders represent to her. The artists all seem to portray something similar: that spiders are somewhat a dominant character. All of the spiders in the picture are huge and are towering over most things in its surroundings.
I am so afraid of spiders and their shadows look so realistic in the pictures. The way that she thought about the spiders were very interesting. Comparing them to her mother and saying that they hang from a thread.
Pretty creepy... but, i love these creepy crawlers. They are one of the most amazing bugs in my book
These sculptures are amazing, especially because of their size and how dramatically they alter the landscape around them. I found the video to be particularly interesting, especially in the way that she described how the spider was like her mother, lonely but protective.
These spiders are so big, and i think anything big is hard to make. And the legs are so skinny too, which almost makes the sculpture look like its fragile and the slightest breeze can knock it down. But I am sure that it is sturdy since people are walking under it... Which reminds me of bad omens, like walking under a ladder, or letting a black cat cross your path. Never walk under a giant black spider?
Those are some cool spiders but it'd be really creepy to be walking by one at night, that black and white picture is kinda spooky cause it looks like the spider's creeping up on the woman
These spiders are interesting because of what she explained in the video how they are all connected in some way and they protect each other and yet actual spiders are not connected like that. So she gives these spiders there own personality and that does not represent real spiders but more friendly things.
I almost peed a little. I honestly hate the sight of spiders. I believe I have the most active form of arachnophobia possible. But according to the sculpture and artist perspective, the spiders are well crafted. They look so real which is probably why I had such a vivid reaction. I feel like the sculptors not only took time to make the sculptures themselves but also to study the real version of what they were actually making to make the sculptures look more real. I love the effort and energy I get from these sculptures however they're spiders and they are huge!
I almost peed a little. I honestly hate the sight of spiders. I believe I have the most active form of arachnophobia possible. But according to the sculpture and artist perspective, the spiders are well crafted. They look so real which is probably why I had such a vivid reaction. I feel like the sculptors not only took time to make the sculptures themselves but also to study the real version of what they were actually making to make the sculptures look more real. I love the effort and energy I get from these sculptures however they're spiders and they are huge!
I love how she creates this barrier with the spiders' legs. She took an everyday, ordinary, sometimes overlooked creature and transformed it into something amazing (and a bit creepy).
Cool spiders, but some are creepy, especially since some are HUGE!!!!
Many people are afraid of spider's; they dont want to be anywhere near a spider. But i think the artist is displaying spiders as a work of art to encourage people to view spiders in a different way. View them not as a nuisance but as as an important creature; that's why they're so big.
I like how she was able to turn a creature that is usually seen as creepy into something elegant. Her sculptures magnify the aspects of a spider that are not creepy (i.e the legs) and uses them to create interesting shadows and designs. I hate spiders, but I like these sculptures.
These spiders are really big, I'm really surprised by how big they were made, especially the ones in public. I think that looking closely the bodies of the spiders are also interesting because they aren't exactly a ball but they have shape and texture too. How were these spiders made and how long did it take?
Out of all the possibilities I can't help but wonder what draws her to spiders. Why not dogs or bears or fish? She doesn't alter their appearance too much, aside from their size of course. Her scultpures make me think about spiders and their importance. Many people fear them or are disgusted by them. Yet here is a person who makes them stand out. Makes them noticable. I wonder. . .
These arachnid sculptures are pretty insane, it must be pretty cool to put something like these on display. I wonder how long they took to put up and what material they are made from?
I really liked the fact that the spiders were so huge. I personally don't like spiders, don't pay much attention to them, and if they are really close in proximity to me I try to kill them, but by the artist making the spiders so big and having them towering over the humans, it forces people to pay attention to them and it is interesting to see them as bigger than and more powerful than people. The artist did a good job with the realistic portrayal of the spiders.
Her thoughts on the spiders are very interesting. She describes them as powerful and delicate at the same time. They contain duel meaning within themselves, simultaneously representing both power and weakness, and Ms. B really took this into account when creating her pieces.
I definitely agree with the general consensus of the scale being quite impressive because the larger the piece the more labor it requires. Also, I think that the way Bourgeois describes spiders as being united as one and yet still managing to be a lonesome creature was rather interesting.
how is it possible to make something so tiny naturally so big with so much detail?
I like the ginormous shadow that the first spiders cast. It would look so cool if a picture was taken of it during a sunset...
I don't much like spiders but these are really cool. They are kind of like acromantulas in harry potter. Its cool that someone would take a spider which is one of the most disliked bugs into this humongous work of art. It would be cool if the made a web to go with it but I wouldn't want to see the kind of bug that would get stuck in it.
Their very long, slender and seemingly fragile forms which appeal to a certain creepy, modern, industrial feeling. I like that the only thing that makes them resemble spiders is their 8 legs and small body, aside from that their very abstract.
I knew there was a giant spider sculpture in Japan, but I didn't know it was by a French artist. The sculptures in the last picture are my favorite though -- it really emphasizes the amazing ability for a creature with spindly legs to balance itself.
These things are super creepy, but really cool. I wouldn't want one in my room, though.
These are cool in an eerie sort of way... I like them. WHAT IF THEY CAME TO LIFE.
I didn't really liked the spiders. I am not afraid of them, and think they are pretty cool in real life. But, while the size of these sculptures is fascinating, the detail and apparent texture isn't. This kind of ruined it for me.
Ew spiders... well at least they dont have faces or fangs becuase that would just make them too realistic and discusting to look at.
Even though I am rather afraid of spiders, these ones don't scare me so much. I think it is just the fact that they are so unrealistically large. It looks like it took quite some time to make them. The spindly-ness of their legs give them a sort of elegance. I really like them.
I love how the spiders completely change their surroundings, and how abstract they are. Spiders give me the creeps, and yet the sheer size and shape of these sculptures doesn't inspire the same kind of fear, and I think it's cool how you can take something scary like that and take away that fearfulness (HP3 POA Holla) through art style.
Like many others I really dont like spidersbut i really appreciate how this artist took something that not a lot of people like and turn it into a great masterpiece that many can enjoy. Though I do still find the sculptures quite frightening.
I actually enjoyed these sculptures more than I though I would. Although she maintains the scary essence of spiders, Bourgeois is really able to make them seem beautiful. I really enjoyed how she used the shadows to add effect.
Part of what is interesting to me about these spiders is the juxtaposition of our own perception of spiders with the sculptures; almost nobody likes spiders, yet these sculptures are elegant and graceful, which creates a large gap between our perception of reality and the artistic interpretation of reality.
Well for me, I don't mind spiders at all, but these sculptures are interesting in the fact that the artist takes something that a lot of people fear and turn it into something cool. The fact people aren't just avoiding these spiders and are actually checking them out means the artist did something right.
I really like spiders on this scale. I feel like it gives them an even creepier feel. I also like the material used, the metal makes the spiders look especially terrifying, and gives them a looming feeling. The long, lanky legs also add to this looming feeling.
The spiders are creepy but pretty amazing at the same time!! Spiders themselves are scary creatures, but the sculptures make them more interesting. The size of the spider clearly represent something powerful. Her sculptures sort of make me look at a spider different rather than just a nasty creature.
These are really big. I wonder what inspired the artist to create such colossal spiders. It would be interesting to hear the thought process she had as she created the creatures.
Looking at these sculptures make me cringe. I absolutely despise spiders and am deathly afraid of them. This said however, I guess the fact that I'm cringing is a good thing for the artist. It means that he was still able to make these dramatically sized spiders with incredibly realistic details - almost too realistic. I admire the artists skill but am still afraid of the spiders.
first off the spiders are really big and it makes me wonder what did the artist make them out of and how did they acquire that much material. second i would defiantly be to afraid to go near this piece of art because i hate spiders and it would invoke so much fear in my like i stepped into an awful horror movie
I was impressed with the whole size of the spider because its hard to make something this big. I also thought it was cool that you could walk under the spider and get many different views.
The thing that most impressed me with the sculptures was the size of the individual pieces. It must have taken a long time to construct these monster spiders.
I noticed that the sharp angles created by the massive legs of each spider made the piece seem more threatening than what it already is. I usually tend to associate spiders with harm, which is why I found it interesting how the artist claimed that these spiders protected one another.
These giant spiders are really cool. I can only imagine how long it took to make those and the amount of detail that is on them when you look up close.
I love these pieces. Though they are obviously spiders they almost have another feel to them. They size makes them seem like there almost something else not spiders. The abstract design gives the viewer room to interpret the piece in different ways.
After reading "The Metamorphosis" by Franz Kafka I could imagine the horror of seeing such a large insect in person. It would be scary to actually be able to walk under one of these sculptures but very impressive that this artist was able to build one so large. The greatness of their shadow makes me cringe but it is very interesting.
Post a Comment